Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52 cfg80211 wiphy_register cipher_suites buffer overflow

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3.3	$0-$5k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52. This impacts the function wiphy_register of the component cfg80211. This manipulation of the argument cipher_suites causes buffer overflow. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-97518. The attack requires local access. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52 and classified as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function wiphy_register of the component cfg80211. The manipulation of the argument cipher_suites with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. As an impact it is known to affect integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: cfg80211: reject duplicate wiphy cipher suite entries Duplicate entries in wiphy->cipher_suites do not describe any additional capability, but cfg80211 currently accepts them and leaves individual consumers to deal with them. One such consumer is the WEXT compatibility code, which appends a WEP key length for each WEP cipher entry it sees. Repeated WEP entries can therefore overflow the fixed iw_range::encoding_size array returned by SIOCGIWRANGE. Reject duplicate cipher suite entries in wiphy_register() instead. This keeps the cipher suite invariant in one place and makes malformed wiphy descriptions fail early with -EINVAL, rather than relying on a single cfg80211 user to handle duplicates correctly.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-97518 since 09/24/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Additional levels of successful authentication are necessary for exploitation. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 1305f8b925fe92edf5fec183588dfc7db719180b/4cbb2360f4d8c29e67bc7a8bf6ba0ae096583923/7187d145d9042b037e4f10538f70cf95e380219f is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.110
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 3.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 3.3

VulDB Base Score: 3.4
VulDB Temp Score: 3.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Buffer overflow
CWE: CWE-120 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: 1305f8b925fe92edf5fec183588dfc7db719180b/4cbb2360f4d8c29e67bc7a8bf6ba0ae096583923/7187d145d9042b037e4f10538f70cf95e380219f

Timelineinfo

09/24/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/24/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97518 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97518
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-409693

Entryinfo

Created: 09/24/2026 20:15
Changes: 09/24/2026 20:15 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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